Stop for bottles by metallic capsules



June 5, 1934 `c. coLoMBANl STOP FOR BOTTLES BY METALLIC CAPSULES FiledSept. 4, 1931 Patented June 5, 1934 STOP FOR BOTTLES BY llmTALLICCAPSULES Colomban Colombani, Paris, France Application September 4,1931, Serial No. 561,287 In Belgium September 4, 1930 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to capsules for bottles and its object isto devise capsules superior to those vknown hitherto.

., 'The calibre of the closing cordon of bottley'necks being neverabsolutely regular, the actual stopping capsules are adjusted on thiscordon either by setting or by plaiting, and the setting or plaitingeffort exerted radially upon the border l of the capsule Vis supporteddirectly by the neck giving rise to breaks amounting to about 10%. Thisbreak of bottles used for example for liquids presenting aninsignificant intrinsic value, such as mineral waters, constitutes asensible M Vincrease of the working cost of stopping; for

' liquids vof higher value, such as wines, cider, champagne wines and soon, this break, to which other drawbacks of the metallic capsules mustbe added, excludes the use of this mode of stopping On the other handthe actual capsules 3 cannot resist tightly pressures of gas of severalatmospheres employed for the champagne wines, for cider and so on.Finally the capsule is de.- formed or torn when opening the bottle, and

j consequently does not permit of re-employment.

The invention has for its main object a new metallic capsule avoidingcompletely the break of Y bottles, supporting tightly pressures whichare relatively great, permitting further its removal from the bottleeven by hand and with- -out any sensible deformation, as well as itsremitting by hand and allowing of being used subsequently several times,while assuring at each time the required tightness. The new capsule canbe used for stopping of bottles containl ing any liquid or beverage andpermits of removal and remitting similarly to a cork-stopper, the Scopeof employment of metallic capsules being, owing to these features,considerably widened.

The capsule forming subject-matter of the -presenit invention is mainlycharacterized by that vits inner border (or closing lip) destined toseize the cordon of the bottle-neck, does not follow exactly the outlineof this cordon but q keeps away from the same sensibly in a very (Cl.21S-39) being exerted upon an annular zone of the capsule, situatedoutwardly with regard to the cordon.

It is obvious that under these conditions the neck of the bottle doesnot undergo directly any squeezing effort and that thereby all break isavoided. Y

Another feature of the capsule consists in that its upper part or theobturatng wall of the capsule is lowered or depressed in its centertoward the basis so as to form, together with the inner border of thebottle-neck, a conical closing joint; it is well known that joints ofthis kind are superior to fiat joints and secure a better tightness.

The foregoing features of the new capsule can be advantageously combinedwith a known disposition, according to which the diameter of opening ofthe capsule between the seizing lips is slightly smaller than the outerdiameter of the bottle-neck, so that the fitting of the capsule requirestwo combined movements of the capsuie with regard to the neck, viz. anobliqueVV sliding motion for engaging one side of the cap-4 sule overthe cordon, and another swinging rnction for applying the opposite sideof the capsule against the neck and perfecting the tting. Thisdisposition combinedwith the new form of the capsule, as defined above,permits to remove and to re-t the capsule several times subsequently'and by hand, securing in this manner to the capsule all advantages of acork-stopper, without its drawbacks. l Y

The invention comprises also a device or disposition for the stoppingmachine devised for setting or itting and for squeezing of the newcapsule. The invention comprises furthermore certain particularitiesenounced in the following de7 scription referring to the drawingappended which illustrate, in the way of an example, 4an executionalform of the subject-matter of the; invention. v

Fig.V l is a sectional View ofthe neck of a bottle and of the capsuleshowing the capsule abov the neck;

Fig. l is a detail plan of the capsule;

Fig. 2 indicates the manner of its ttng by two conjugated sliding andswinging movements, for opening the bottle, and on supposition that,initially already, the lower diameter of the capsule is lesser than thatof the neck-cordon;

Fig. 3 represents the capsule fitted to the'bottle;

Fig. 4 and Fig, 5 indicate summarily a device for the stopping machine,in two different posi'- tions; and

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view similar to Fig. 3 and showing thebottle neck with the capsule cap applied and sealed.

The capsule comprises, as shown in Fig. l, in axial section, a stronglyinclined border a or wall, and an inclined lip or border b approachingthe axis in an equally very inclined direction so as to include with.the wall a, a very pronounced angle which is generally a sharp one; thewidth o between the lips b is of a diameter slightly lesser than theouter diameter d of the seizing cordon of the bottle-neck. Besides, theupper part of the capsule is sunk downwardly at c so as to form a littlebasin or cap. In this manner the joint is perfect.

In fact, the joint between the tightening layer g (india-rubber, cork,plastic matter and so on) placed in the usual manner in the interior ofthe capsule, and the neck itself will be effected in the way of aconical joint between the basin c and the inner border of the neck.

The capsule must not be necessarily provided according to the inventionwith an aperture o smaller than the diameter d of the cordon or collar;in case of this diameter being the same or slightly superior, no specialprecaution is required for itting of the capsule. In the preferred caseof this diameter o being, as shown, slightly smaller than d, the fittingis effected by conjugated movements of horizontal or inclined slidingand of swinging, as indicated in Figures 2 and 3. To begin with, thecapsule is pushed horizontally and in an inclined position, as shown inFig. 2, so as to engage the seizing lip b over the cordon or collar ofthe bottle, on one side of the same; thereupon the capsule is swungaround the so established supporting point and the remaining peripheralpart of the seizing lip is forced to pass over the collar, so that thecapsule arrives into its final position, as shown in Fig. 3.

After fitting the squeezing or quenching of the capsule is eiected bynipping its walls a, b between annular jaws m and m (shown summarily inFig. 3) drawn near to each other parallely to the axis of the neck, asindicated by arrows in Fig. 3.

The inner diameter of these jaws is greater than the diameter d of theneck-collar so that the squeezing action does not exert itself directlyupon the collar itself but acts upon the parts a and b so as to diminishstill, outwardly of the collar, the sharp angle formed between theseparts. The squeezing of the said parts of the capsule (of the upper andinner border) parallely to the axis of the collar and at a smalldistance from the same, avoids all break of the bottle; simultaneouslythe following effects are produced: 1, the aperture o of the capsule isreduced and consequently a perfect fit or adjustment or calibration ofthe same with regard to the collar is secured; 2. the upper part(together with its tightening means g) is applied against the upperportion of the bottle-neck, viz. a tight joint, analogous to the conicaljoint, is secured between the upper deepened central part of the capsuleand the inner entry of the neck.

The squeezing of the parts a, b of the capsule between the movable jawscan be secured of course by any suitable means, the following device,shown in Figs. 4 and 5, being indicated merely in the way of anexample.`

On the table l of a stopping machine of any kind reposes a metallicsupport 2 sufficiently resistant and assuming in the embodimentrepresented the shape of a bottle greater and wider than the bottle tobe stopped. Laterally the support is open so as to permit introductionof the bottle to be stopped, the upper collar of its neck surpassing theheight of the support 2.

The support carries an annular abutment m made in one piece with thesupport or attached thereto in any suitable Way, for example movable onit, as indicated on the drawing and described further on. At the otherpart, to a iixed point 3 of the capsulating machine is articulated alever e carrying the upper annular jaw m destined to squeeze the borderof the capsule between this jaw and the lower jaw m. In the exampleshown, it is supposed that the lower jaw m is movable in the sense ofthe axis of the neck and that it is displaced by small levers 4 pivotingat 5 on the support 2 and acted upon by arms 6 mounted on the lever 4carrying the upper jaw m'. 1t is visible that with this device thelowering of the lever is followed by the raising of the jaw m andsimultaneously by the lowering of the jaw m.

The lever can be arranged so as to effect itself, after previous to thesqueezing of the capsule, its placing on the collar; a channel can beprovided in the lever for guiding the capsules, one by one, over thebottles to be stopped and situated in the support 2, distributedpreferably in a sufficient number on the periphery of a circularrotating table l of the capsulating machine. In this way the rotation ofthe table and the lowering and raising movement of the lever 4 permit toobtain an automatic stopping machine working rapidly and continuously,the bottles to be stopped being placed one by one in successive supportsprevious to passing below the lever, and being removed on the oppositeside of the rotary table.

Such mode of squeezing of the new capsule presents, besides avoiding allbreak, the particular advantage of adapting the capsule exactly to thebottle-neck nothwithstanding the differences of calibres of diiferentnecks, owing to the elasticity intercalated so to say between thesqueezing jaws and the cordon or collar of the bottle. Besides, it ispossible, according to the invention, to intercalate between the capsuleand the neck, as replacement of the tightening layer y or, what ispreferable, in addition to the same, a thin leaf of tin, aluminum and soon, which is larger than the aperture of the capsule, so as to head thecollar and to adapt itself to it and to descend deeper than the collarafter stopping the bottle. On squeezing the borders of the capsule, theleaf compensates the differences of calibration of different necks byintroducing itself between the lip b and the neck-collar in case of theneck-collar being too small, and will be cut accordingly under theaction of the lip Zi in case of the neck-calibre being greater.

It is to be understood that the different features of the new capsulecan be employed either separately or in combination, without surpassingthe scope of the invention. The dimensions of the capsule with respectto the neck may vary; a suitable shape of the capsule Will be obtainedby making its diameter 6 to 8 mm. greater than that of the collar of theneck.

Essays have proved that the capsule constituted in this manner issusceptible of resisting to `very high pressures very superior to thoseof ciders and sparkling wines, and in a perfect tight manner;nevertheless the capsule may be removed without being spoiled, and maybe used subsequently several times with all required i tightness, incase of emergency with aid of hand without help of any tool. The widenedshape of the capsule lends itself in the best possible way for itsswinging by hand.

The new shape of the capsule secures at the same time an esthetic aspectsuiting perfectly for crowning of the neck.

What I claim is:

1. A capsule for closing a bottle having a bead around its mouth, saidcapsule having a central portion to bear on the mouth of the bottle andprovided with a radially extending downwardly inclined edge portion toproject radially from the bottle mouth and a downwardly inclinedinwardly extending lower flange united to said rst mentioned edgeportion and adapted to bear at its inner edge under said bead, said edgeportion and said lower flange being adapted to be pressed toward eachother to tightly grip the bead of the bottle between them, whichincreases the diameter of the capsule as to adapt the Y same to bereadily grasped by the hand and de- EAI

